Ali Wong, George Lopez, and Other Comics Bring the Laughs to Chicago This Season

This summer’s comedy lineup is going strong, with a live podcast recording at the Chicago Theatre and a few exciting big-name comics like Ali Wong and George Lopez coming to town. Here are some of the best comedy shows to put on your calendar.

Photo courtesy of Melissa Villaseñor/Facebook

Melissa Villaseñor at Zanies Chicago
Currently in her third year as a cast member on ​Saturday Night Live​, Villaseñor was a stand-up comic for years before being asked to join the venerable late-night sketch show. A master of impressions and voices, her comedy paints vivid, hilarious pictures, and if you’re a fan of her work on SNL, you’ll certainly love her shows at Zanies.Details: August 1 and 2; $25

Ali Wong at the Chicago Theatre
Fresh off her recent Netflix movie, ​Always Be My Maybe,​ Wong’s popularity has skyrocketed in the past several years. She’s also got two critically acclaimed hour-long specials on Netflix: Baby Cobra ​and ​Hard Knock Wife​.Details: August 16 and 17, 7 p.m.

George Lopez at the Chicago Theatre
Lopez is one of the modern-day powerhouses of stand-up comedy, and he has certainly cemented his place as one of the all-time greats alongside the likes of Carlin, Pryor, and Seinfeld. Time magazine named him one of the 25 most influential Hispanics in America, and he’s earned three Grammy nominations for his comedy albums.Details: August 23, 7 p.m.; $49–$69

Christina P at Thalia Hall
Christina P is a stand-up comedian, writer, TV personality, and podcast host. She’s best known for her two Netflix specials, ​The Degenerates​ and ​Christina P: Mother Inferior, ​as well as her hugely popular podcast, ​Your Mom’s House​, which she cohosts with her husband and fellow stand-up comedian, Tom Segura.Details: September 6, 7 p.m.; $25–$50

Photo courtesy of Hampton Yount/Facebook

How Did This Get Made at the Chicago TheatreHow Did This Get Made is a podcast that deconstructs movies so truly awful it’s a mystery how they actually came to be. The hosts, Jason Mantzoukas (​The League, The Good Place, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Parks and Rec​reation), Paul Scheer (​Veep, Human Giant, The League​), and June Diane Raphael (​Curb Your Enthusiasm, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Party Down​), are all former Upright Citizens Brigade performers and have incredible chemistry. Look out for potential celeb-friend drop-ins on the live podcast at the Chicago Theatre.Details: September 7, 7 p.m. and 10:30 p.m.; $49

Hampton Yount at Schubas
Abundantly creative as both a stand-up comic and a writer, Yount has had dozens of TV appearances, including a half-hour special on Comedy Central, ​Conan, @midnight, a​nd currently as Crow T. Robot on the Netflix reboot of ​Mystery Science Theatre 3000: The Return.Details: September 13, 7 p.m.; $15